Brain structural changes in girls with idiopathic central precocious puberty: a voxel-based morphometry and...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Pediatric Endocrinology
• Radiology

Background:

• Idiopathic central precocious puberty (ICPP) involves early puberty onset due to central activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis.
• Understanding the neurobiological impact of ICPP is crucial for identifying potential long-term effects and developing targeted interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate brain structural differences in girls with ICPP compared to healthy controls using advanced neuroimaging techniques.
• To explore the relationship between observed brain structural alterations and key clinical indicators of ICPP, such as hormonal levels.

Main Methods:

• Utilized voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and surface-based morphometry (SBM) on 3.0 T MRI T1-weighted images from 52 girls with ICPP and 50 controls.
• Analyzed global and regional brain volumes, and cortical thickness, employing statistical parametric mapping (SPM12) and computational anatomy toolbox (CAT12).
• Performed correlation analyses to link structural findings with clinical data, including peak luteinizing hormone (LH) levels.

Main Results:

• ICPP group exhibited increased total intracranial volume, white matter, and cerebrospinal fluid, alongside decreased gray matter volume.
• VBM identified reduced gray matter in the right precentral gyrus, amygdala, inferior temporal gyrus, and putamen.
• SBM revealed cortical thinning in the right precentral gyrus, with significant correlations between gray matter/cortical thickness in these regions and peak LH levels.

Conclusions:

• VBM and SBM are effective in detecting brain structural changes in ICPP, particularly in areas governing motor control, emotion, and cognition.
• Identified brain alterations are associated with hormonal profiles in ICPP, suggesting their potential as imaging biomarkers.
• These findings provide insights into the neurobiological underpinnings and impact of ICPP on brain development.